REVIEWS – All tech reviews by iGyaan.in
The Honor 7X was launched in India at a starting price of Rs. 12999. With a modern design and a very capable Kirin 659 chipset, the Honor 7X is one of the best devices in this price range. Watch our full review to know more!
[section label=”Full Review”]
The Lenovo Legion Y720 is a gaming laptop priced at Rs 1,49,990 in India. Here is our full review of the Lenovo Legion Y720:
[section label=”Full Review”]
The HP Pavilion Power laptop is a great laptop with powerful specs and performance. Here is iGyaan’s full review of the HP Pavilion Power laptop:
[section label=”Unboxing”]
[section label=”Full Review”]
The Motorola Moto X4 comes to India for a price of Rs 20999 for the 3GB RAM variant and Rs 22999 for the 4GB RAM variant , after an unexpectedly long wait. Is the new Moto X series phone the right sequel to the popular Moto X Play and Moto X Style?
[section label=”Build Quality and Design”]
The design of the Moto X4 is pretty impressive, with a glass front and 3D curved glass back, the phone has a rigid aluminium frame and is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 with Native Damage Resistance. The Moto X4 is also IP68 water resistant, making it a really interesting proposition in the present price bracket.
The matte-finish frame feels excellent in the hand and the curved back fits comfortably in your palm. The cameras are placed in the notorious Moto round camera bump, however is well protected by a metal lip around the glass. The phone is offered up in two colors the Super Black and the Sterling Blue, both are interesting shades of their respective base colors and make the device look premium. Motorola has also placed all markings on the bottom of the phone next to the USB – C connector, making the device look clean.
The displays do have a top and lower bezel, but they are put to use with the large forward fitting speaker and front flash, along with the Fingerprint sensor which sits below the screen.
[section label=”Unboxing Video “]
Watch our unboxing video here-
[section label=”Hardware”]
The Moto X4 has a 5.2 inch screen and while Motorola has used OLED displays in their phones frequently, the Moto X4 continues to use a 1920 x 1080 px LTPS IPS LCD display. Inside the Moto X4 has the Snapdragon 630 chipset with the Adreno 508 GPU. The 2.2 GHz oct core chipset manages to deliver impressive daily performance. Options of 3 / 4 GB of RAM and 32/ 64 GB of Storage (respectively) along with a 3000 mAh battery with Moto TurboPower charging.
The chipset does have FM radio capabilities and DUAL SIM support along with VoLTE for Indian networks.
[section label=”Display and Multimedia”]
The forward firing speaker is loud and clear, we would have liked the dual stereo speakers Moto has used in the past, but this single one works well. The dimply is vibrant and bright with excellent color accuracy and viewing angles. The display is easily readable indoors and out and offers a 10 point multi touch just as most smartphones nowadays.
Consumption of content will be a plenty with the loud speaker and good looking display the responsiveness of the device also enhances the multimedia experience. A few customisations for the display are available, a color mode and adaptive brightness come standard. Also standard is a display size modifier to allow for larger or smaller fits and icons.
The sound output from the 3.5mm jack and the included earphones are impressive, adding a pair of high quality headphones will also offer better results.
[section label=”Performance and Gaming”]
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chipset ( mid-high range chipset) works well on the Moto X4, paired up with the 4 GB RAM variant that we tested the phone offers impressive perforce for gaming and day to day usage. Multi tasking and peak task management along with RAM management is good with the stock Android and despite using the phone for over 4 weeks we found no slow down from the UI.
Games run well, including graphic intensive games manage to run at full graphics with impressive frame rates and no lag from the gaming experience. The forward firing speaker also helps the gaming experience, and whether you play arcade or intense games, the experience is pretty satisfactory.
[section label=”Android and Moto Experience”]
The Moto X4 runs a pure Android 7.1 ROM, with minor customisations from MOTO and a custom Camera APP. The user experience is lag free and pretty much as good as a pixel device. The Moto app has some interesting additions including the Moto Key which almost ever user for Moto X4 will learn to love. Much like Touch ID and Face ID the Moto Key on the Moto X4 will allow users to store passwords and sensitive information on the secure part of the Snapdragon 630 chip encrypted with the users fingerprints. This also will allow access into a windows computer, acting as a portable fingerprint reader for your laptop or desktop. The app available to download for Windows allows several more customisations.
The single button navigation also opens up more display real-estate and its gesture based experience is truly something that one can get used to .
The Moto X4 will be updated to Android Oreo soon claims the company, this will also enable Bluetooth 5.0 which is an OS dependant update, and the phone presently offers Bluetooth 4.1. But you do get the muti speaker connectivity because Bluetooth 5.0 hardware exists in the device, You can pair upto 4 different bluetooth speakers sync them up and have your own little party.
[section label=”Cameras”]
The Moto X4 is made up of dual cameras at the rear, with one 12 MP sensor with an f/2.0 aperture and Dual Pixel AF while the other an 8 MP wide lens camera with an f/2.2 aperture.A huge improvement in the dual camera experience of the Moto X4 from previous Moto devices. With one Wide sensor the camera is able to do a lot more in the same space.
The HDR on the camera is really impressive offering up good levels of contrast on both the highs and mids. The dynamic range is pretty flexible and can be left in automatic for some interesting image results from the camera.
The depth mode is a lot more accurate and fine tuned as well. Selecting out elements from the depth shot and editing them on the in built app allows for background replacement/blur or monochrome effects which can reproduce a lifelike shot.
Video capture from the phone with a resolution of 4k at 30 fps is good as well, we do miss stabilisation on the video capture which makes video caught by shaky hands, well “shaky!”
Both in video and images you get precise color saturation and sharp images, also assisted with the dual AF offered by the 12 MP primary camera. Additionally the manual mode assists in delivering more precise controls for the Photo Nerds in us.
[section label=”Phone and Battery”]
With support for all Indian networks on the 660 chipsets modem, and a robust Antenna on the Moto X4 call performance was top notch, with no call drops in weak network areas. The use of a three mic setup improves noise cancellation on the other end of the call and the earpiece is nice and loud. It is worth noting that the included headset also works with the noise cancellation microphones, and the earphones offer a full and impressive sound stage for music and voice calls.
Battery life will range from 4 hours of screen on time to 11 hours of screen on time depending on what your usage patterns look like. On an average the phone lasts a full day and then some, but in scenarios where you may need extra battery the TurboPower charger can juice you up for a good 5-7 hours of usage in about 15 minutes.
[section label=”Conclusion”]
Despite pretty big top and bottom bezels, the Motorola Moto X4 has a premium design and robust build quality a rigid frame and most importantly is the only phone in this price range with IP68 water proofing. The dual cameras are a lot more refined and offer up some interesting picture and video capabilities. Call quality and battery life on the Moto X4 delivers its due and the phone offers up a full experience. The phone is also kept in an interesting price bracket which leaves a good wiggle room for other brands whose flagship chipset based phones are 5-8 thousand in the north.
For the price and for IP68 alone the Moto X4 may just be the right phone in this price bracket, and with a lack of serious competition in this price range, Motorola may just reap the benefits of their pricing strategy. We would have liked to see a larger battery, an OLED display and stereo speakers. But the current arrangement is good at the price and we don’t really have that much to complain about.
In the market for a phone for Around Rs. 20000? give serious thought to the Moto X4.
Watch Our Full Review
Xiaomi followed up the 2016 Mi Mix with the new Mi Mix 2 with slightly thinner bezels and upgraded hardware. The Mi Mix 2 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, 6GB of RAM and is priced at Rs 35999 in India. So, at this price, does it give the OnePlus 5 a run for its money?
[section label=”Unboxing Video”]
[section label=”Full Review”]
Xiaomi introduced a new lineup of smartphones in India which will focus on the ever-growing craze of selfies. The Redmi Y1 is the first smartphone launched in the lineup along with the Redmi Y1 Lite. Priced competitively, is the Redmi Y1 the new budget king?
[section label=”Unboxing Video “]
[section label=”Full Review “]
Lenovo Yoga 720 as an ultra portable offers good specs and features, for a light and compact form factor, with a little to be required from Graphics and Display.
[section label=”Unboxing Video”]
[section label=”Full Review”]
Not often do you get devices that give you simple joy of portability. While on one end of the spectrum Smartphones are getting bigger, the need for sleeker and more portable laptops is one that only ultra-light notebooks like the MacBook Air, HP Envy and Lenovo Yoga have been able to solve.
This new entrant in the space tackles the problem in a different respect all together, The GPD Pocket is one laptop that has received 3.5 million dollars in funding on Indiegogo and it hasn’t stopped there. The laptop is available for a price that is just shy of US $ 500 or approximately Rs. 31000 but offers a full Windows 10 experience.
Build Quality and Design
With no marks or logos on the actual hardware the GPD pocket’s sleek unibody magnesium design makes it good to look at. the boxier than your usual ultra light, and that is because it is not ultra or light. At almost 20mm thick and weighing it at 500 gm the GPD pocket will most likely not fit in your pocket.
The build is robust and extremely satisfying, unibody design, a strong hinge and copper radiator cooled internals.
Xiaomi Mi A1 was launched in India on September 5th at a price of Rs 14999. Two USPs of the device are the dual-camera setup and stock Android OS. The Mi A1 is the first Xiaomi smartphone to feature stock Android OS in association with Google’s Android One program. The company has also confirmed that the device will receive Android 8.0 Oreo update before the end of 2017.
The smartphone has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px LTPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass on top for protection and aluminum unibody build. Powering the device is a 3080 mAh battery and 2A charging through the Type C port. The Mi A1 runs pure Android 7.1.2 Nougat OS. Even though the phone has stock Android OS, Xiaomi has retained a few apps, such as the Mi camera app since the Google app doesn’t support dual-camera functions right now. The phone has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, 8x ARM Cortex A53 2.0GHz 64-bit processor, 4GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which is expandable via microSD card. Handling the graphics under the hood is the Adreno 505 GPU. The fingerprint sensor sits at the back of the device below the camera. Xiaomi has also included a dedicated headphone amplifier for better music listening experience.
In terms of optics, the smartphone features dual sensors – 12MP with an f/2.2 aperture (26mm) and 12MP with an f/2.6 aperture (50mm) setup with 1.25-micron pixel size. Out of the two cameras at the back, the primary one is equipped with a telephoto lens and the secondary camera has a wide-angle lens. The telephoto lens allows the user to take bokeh effect shots with blurred background and a 2X optical lossless zoom. For landscape shots, Xiaomi has introduced a wide angle lens while on the front is a 5MP camera.
The new Xiaomi Mi In Ear Headphones Pro HD, add a premium yet affordable option to the already good lineup of budget headphones from the Chinese Manufacturer. The problem is that you will have a hard time getting your hands on one.
Samsung has a whole lot of memory and media options available, from SSDs to microSDs, Samsung also supplies Nand flash cards to most Smartphone manufacturers. The new Evo Plus cards are available in capacities ranging from 16GB to 256GB and boast impressive speeds of 90MB/s + for Reads as well as writes making them not only ideal for playback of high res media files but also a fantastic option for Professionals who need to capture high quality 4k footage.
The cards range in price from Rs. 500 for the 16 GB variant all the way upto Rs. 9900 for the 256 GB variant of the card.
The Micro SD card features a temperature resistance rating of -25° to 85° Celsius, and can survive in seawater for upto 72 hours making it extremely resistant and resilient in storing your data safely. The Evo plus card from Samsung does have magnetic and x-ray shielding allowing you to secure your data from the airport scans.
While the smaller size variants from 16 GB to 128 GB storage capacities are rated for 80 MB/s Reads and only 20 MB/s writes the 256 GB card really shines with high speed card access. Making this ideal not only for smartphones with 4k video recording capabilities, but also for devices, like the GoPro, DJI Osmo and drones that use microSD and capture 4K footage.
While our actual tests show much lower speed than the rated 95MB/s Reads and 90MB/s writes, the overall result is still impressive for a 256 GB microSD card.
The 256 GB Samsung Evo Plus is a solution not for the faint of heart, with a hefty price tag of Rs. 9,900 the 256 GB Samsung Evo Plus will definitely put a big hole in your pocket but will also give you storage and speeds that you need to access the storage. With media storage mediums getting cheaper and cheaper the Samsung 256 GB Evo Plus which retails for Rs. 13999 is now available for Rs. 9,900. It is a high quality well built reliable and resilient card and does not throw up any read/write errors on devices and gives the speeds that are required.
Lenovo P2 as a smartphone offers an interesting mix of hardware and features, focusing more on the massive 5100 mAh battery which offers an impressive battery life on the phone which is just 8.3 mm in thickness. But, do the rest of the features match up with the price of the smartphone? And, is the Lenovo P2 worth your money? Let’s find out!
[section label=”Video Review”]
[section label=”Build And Design”]
The Lenovo P2 has a well built and solid, scratch resistant unibody aluminium design which should look good for long periods of time, if you don’t manage to ding and drop your phone a lot. The shell is well built and looks premium. The dual chamfers, one on the front and one on the back along with chrome accents around the camera, led flash and buttons makes the phone look clean and well made. The manufacturing of the phone is in India. So, Make in India for the win.
Design is very reminiscent with the phones we have seen in the past, with placements of the camera and led flash much like vibe phones seen recently, especially the K6 Note. If you liked the design on those phones, then the P2 does offer up improvements.
[section label=”Hardware”]
The hardware is not top notch, with the Snapdragon 625 chipset based on 14nm tech offering octa-core at 2.0 GHz and an Adreno 506 GPU (similar to the Redmi Note 4) the Lenovo P2, is available in 3 GB or 4GB RAM options with 32 GB or 64 GB of Storage. You can add an upto 256 GB card but you lose the 2nd SIM slot on the hybrid tray (boo). The main camera is 13 MP with an f/2.0 aperture and the front camera is a 5MP shooter and the phone is powered by a massive 5100 mAh battery.
[section label=”Performance”]
The phone features a less powerful 625 chipset, so do not expect this to be a performance monster. The Lenovo P2 scores mediocre benchmark scores, and does decent multitasking Gaming experience is good , but no the best. The phone manages RAM well and despite a stock Android feel, some optimisations in the UI allow for smooth multitasking and everyday use, despite several weeks of usage.
The phone manages heat really well and we did not find the phone heating up extensively even when handling heavy tasks and high end graphics.
[section label=”Multimedia and Display”]
The Super AMOLED display is a perfect example of technology trickling down to mid range phones. Super AMOLED, which is traditionally restricted to Samsung flagships, is now being used by Lenovo on their P2, giving it exceptional viewing angles and good depth of colour and brightness. The indoor and outdoor visibility is good and Black-levels are deep. The display does over-saturate the colours, a problem with most Super-AMOLEDs, however colour profile options allow for some basic changes. Switching to the Normal display mode in the settings shows some natural colours which definitely are flatter to the eye.
The viewing angles and colour quality of the display make watching videos and movies on the phone a great experience. You also have a decent speaker, but the included earphones are poor. Buy yourself a good pair of headphones (/earphones) to enjoy the good multimedia output from the headphone jack.
The P2 does not have Dolby support, and possibly the only phone in Lenovo’s arsenal to miss this out, Strange!
[section label=”Operating System”]
The Lenovo P2 runs on Android 6.0.1 out of the box, with a promised upgrade to Nougat in Late March 2017, which is a bit of a let down. You can expect to start hearing news of Android 8 around that time. However, it is good that the company has given a clear timeline of the updates.
The UI is fast and responsive and thanks to the RAM management stays that way for a long time. The UI is also close to stock much like their Moto phones, and the experience does feel much more like a Moto phone. Little bloatware is preloaded which can easily be uninstalled for those who do not need the unwanted Apps.
The Ui also has some interesting features, like using the Home button/fingerprint scanner for navigation and hiding the Nav-bar for a fuller-screen experience. You also have the ability to have two instances of apps like WhatsApp and Facebook installed so you do not have to log-out of apps and then log-in again. Helpful for those managing both personal and work social profiles.
[section label=”Battery”]
The Lenovo P2 lives up to expectations of a long battery life. Mixed with a 14nm architecture and a massive battery of 5100 mAh, the Lenovo P2 is a battery king. Expect 2 days of use for most advanced users and longer for average users. The ultimate power mode converts the Smartphone into a feature phone extending the battery life for weeks on an end.
[blockquote]The Lenovo P2 may be a truer battery and charging king [/blockquote]
The included fast charger is speeds up to the point where it delivers an impressive 12V 2A charge making the phone charge to a full in around 1.5 hours. When compared to Dash Charge, the Lenovo P2 may stay back in percentages, i.e achieving 40% vs 60% on the OnePlus 3 in the same time.
However, in real life numbers, it charges 2040 mAh of battery in the same time the Dash Charge charges 1800mAh and that too on a micro USB port. Lenovo has some interesting battery capability here.
Talk Time : 14 Hours
Screen On Time : 20 Hours +
Internet Browsing : 15 Hours +
Video : 10 Hours +
With the battery life, and optimisations, the Lenovo P2 becomes an impressive companion for travellers and media consumption junkies.
Netflix-athon anyone?
[section label=”Camera”]
The Lenovo P2 has a 13 MP main camera which has a 21mm f/2.0 aperture equipped lens. Offering an impressive field of view and good depth of field. HDR works well and images look good in well-lit conditions. The phone also manages decent low light images, but you will find yourself using the flash a lot to get good pictures, if lighting is not adequate.
Colors can turn out flat, and images look definitely better on the Super-AMOLED display of the Lenovo P2 than they do on a LCD or LED panel at your home. The main camera also captures 4k video at 30fps, which allows you to get some high resolution video with a chipset that most manufacturers have restricted to Full HD. You also get electronic IS for video which is good for shaky hands, though, you lose some resolution and field of view once you enable this feature.
The front camera is good only is proper lighting, otherwise shots are over processed and noisy. For selfie-lovers the beauty mode cleans up most post processing needs. However, we found turning this off worked better for more natural and sharper looking images. Video on the front is restricted to 1080p and will come in handy for basic usage.
[section label=”Conclusion”]
The Lenovo P2 is designed for those who either travel a lot or forget charging their phone often. Features like a super fast charge, ora long battery life is a boon to a lot of people who work long hours too. Performance is good for most users but the phone is not designed for hardcore gaming enthusiasts and performance junkies.
The Lenovo P2 has a fast UI and some interesting features that can come in handy for new business owners like the dual apps and dual profiles on some social apps. The phone has excellent network strength, and works well with 4G and VoLTE. The hybrid SIM slot is a no-no for us but the option of buying the phone with a big storage of 64GB is an option. An option however, that is not currently on sale.
Another option to consider is that the Lenovo Z2 Plus which features a Snapdragon 820 chipset is now available for as low as Rs. 14999 which supersedes the value of the Lenovo P2 as a better price for spec ratio phone. Making the smartphone space more complicated than ever before.
Samsung Gear IconX is the first wireless set of earphones, offering true cord free experience from a big company. But, are they really worth the big price tag, or should you consider something more affordable.
[section label=”Design”]
The Gear IconX is built really well, with a good quality outer casing. The earphones offer up splash and dust resistant P2i Nano coating despite having a fairly wide feature set. They should withstand your sweat incase you decide to use these for your active life or sports.
The included wing tips and in ear plugs come in a total of 4 different sizes for a perfect fit and are extremely easy to switch.
The carry case also has a rubberized coating on the outside and is built to survive several drops, and it does not pop open incase you do drop it.
[section label=”Hardware”]
The Samsung Gear IconX comes with 4GB of inbuilt storage, which can come in handy if you decide to get some music without your phone. Connectivity with your smartphone is via Bluetooth 4.1 (BLE). The Gear IconX also track your fitness via the inbuilt HR sensor and an Accelerometer. The capacitive touch input on both earphones allow for handling and navigating through your music handling calls and listening to the contextual menus.
The Gear IconX come with 2 microphones per earbud, for noise cancellation and audio for phone calls. The Frequency Range is 20~20 kHz, with a Speaker Sensitivity of 89.5 dB ± 3 dB / 1mW and a Speaker Impedance: 16 ohm.
Each earbud has a inbuilt 47 mAh while the outer carrying case has a 315 mAh.
[section label=”Audio Performance”]
When you setup your Gear IconX with your phone, the audio is usually set to 50% which is optimised to get you a good battery life.
Audio performance is excellent, while music volumes can be extremely high. Low range and Mids are handled extremely well and audio profiles can be customised using the Gear app on your Android phone.
You can also use a single earbud as a regular bluetooth earpiece incase you like to keep it old school and answer your calls like that.
If you go for your run or go about your fitness routine without your phone, the earphones will still track your health info and heartbeat and then sync up with your phone later.
As wireless earphones they have excellent range and sound and thanks to the snug fit the outside noise is easily cut. The ability to long press and listen to ambient sound means you don’t need to constantly pull the earphones out of your ear.
[section label=”Battery Life”]
The biggest downfall of the Gear IconX has to be the battery life, if you increase the volume from the default while connected to your phone, you will need to charge the IconX every 60-75 minutes. Which if you are used to listening to music for long periods is a definite negative.
The carry case will charge both your earbuds a total of three extra times. However, if you leave your earphones in the case they will be charged constantly basically draining the battery of the earphones and the case as well. Which means leaving your earphones overnight will kill them, making them impossible to travel with.
[section label=”Conclusion”]
The Samsung Gear IconX is the best direction towards a truly wireless music experience, and seems like a better setup than what is expected from the Apple AirPods. However with a 5 hour battery the AirPods have the definite advantage. The Gear IconX will work with iPhones and Windows Phones too if you have those, however, you will get basic bluetooth connectivity and not deep controls and customizations which can be had on Android phones via the Gear App.
The battery life however is a step backwards, and it seems that Samsung rushed into these too early without figuring out real usage scenarios. The poor batteries make it difficult to use these daily, or ever! The battery life is also unwarranted considering the heavy price tag on these.
This is the right approach, however, it’s pre-mature and the battery life is unacceptable, sound quality and volumes are great. The earphones are extremely light and fit well in your ear. The fitness features are also a great add-on.
Each year at around the same time Apple revises it’s iPhones, secrecy ensues prior to their launch. However, with the launch of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus very little was left to imagination. Apple has solved some of the basic problems surrounding the iPhones in the past, while adding some new tricks. And, while the removal of the headphone jack seemed to be a problem during the launch, no one seems to be complaining now.
[section label=”Design”]
Apple has made subtle changes to the design of the iPhone 7, for starters the edges are more rounded off and comfortable to hold. The antenna lines on the back of the phone have been moved out of sight, and if you get either the black or jet black colour the antenna lines are nearly invisible.
The addition of the Jet-black colour and the regular black colour has been appreciated by everyone. However, the black color due to it’s matte finish is extremely slippery and the jet-black iPhone is prone to scratches and damage. The slight change in the camera’s position and the size of the camera lens on the back is attractive to some, while ugly to others. Apple refuses to make the camera flush since the iPhone 6, and with the iPhone 7 it seems to have grown bigger and outward.
[section label=”Build Quality”]
Apple has made interesting changes to the phone to make the iPhone 7 water-resistant with an iP67 rating. The whole insides of the iPhone 7 are lined with a rubberized seal, including a nano coating on the electronics.
Although several tests have shown that the iPhone 7 has a far better water resistance than Samsung’s iP68 on their phones. The removal of the headphone jack and rubber lining of several of the iPhone’s ingress points (including a physical home button) has also made this possible. The Sim Card tray too, now, comes with a tiny rubber gasket.
The removal of a physical home button and the replacement with a touch glass surface, helps with the water resistance and also improves the life of the home button. While the back remains a solid aluminium shell, reinforced to avoid any bending issues, the front is speculated to be Gorilla Glass 5. The rear camera lens has a sapphire glass composite, which essentially has a layer of sapphire towards the outside.
[section label=”Unboxing Video”]
[section label=”Hardware”]
Apple has upped the hardware on the iPhone 7 considerably. Starting with a much faster chipset A10 Fusion Quad Core CPU and Hexa Core GPU. The iPhone 7 gets 2 GB of RAM along with large storage options of 32 GB , 128 GB and 256 GB.
The iPhone 7 camera has been improved with a new lens structure, wider f1.8 aperture OIS and wide colour capture. The inbuilt audio gets an upgrade to stereo speakers, and digital out via lightning and the battery is now a larger 1960 mAh unit.
The home button has been replaced by a pressure sensitive glass panel, much like 3D touch, it senses the amount of force applied and vibrates to give feedback to your actions.
[section label=”Performance”]
The iPhone is a fantastic example that more RAM does not equal more performance. At a time where most major manufacturers are shifting towards 4GB and some manufacturers are shifting towards 6 GB RAM in their phones, the Apple iPhone 7 comes with just 2 GB of RAM. A big far cry from industry expectations and norms. The Apple iPhone 7 is extremely quick to respond to actions and UI commands.
Compute times are incredibly reduced and there is no lag between app launches and swiping between applications. The benchmark scores on the iPhone 7 surpass many Android flagships, and so does day to day performance. Expect excellent gaming graphics and top tier responsiveness from the iPhone 7. The performance surpasses that of even the iPad Pro which is considered a very solid performer. Antutu score of the iPhone 7 is consistently above 174000 which is much higher than even the Note 7.
[section label=”Display”]
Adding a wide color gamut the iPhone 7’s display is able to output cinema standard colours.
Our biggest gripe, however, has to be the lack of a better resolution display, and with a 1334 × 750 px display on the iPhone 7 we are truly disappointed. The resolution is far more noticeable when you have used a 2K display, or even a 1080p display.
In 2015 Sony managed a 4K display into a smartphone. we expected at least a 1920 x 1080 px display in the new iPhone 7. This display is an LCD IPS display, not AMOLED as per expectations everyone had.
iPhone 7’s display has excellent viewing angles and is 25% more bright when compared to the iPhone 6s. The display still includes their 3D touch technology which allows you to initiate a contextual menu if you hard press on the screen. This is becoming more and more prominent and usable in iOS 10.
[section label=”Multimedia”]
The multimedia experience is impressive on the iPhone 7, with the wide colour display watching videos is excellent. The stereo Speakers deliver more than 100 db of audio output which is the highest in this category. One of the speakers on the iPhone 7 is forward firing and that helps in watching those endless Vines or Facebook videos.
Gaming is excellent as has been with each iPhone, Games are optimized well to work on iOS and that is exactly the case with the iPhone 7. With a mix of high end gaming performance on the chipset along with good audio from the speakers and responsive feedback from the touchscreen, you will like the gaming experience a lot. The new six core GPU handles graphics with ease and delivers an extremely smooth gaming experience.
The removal of the 3.5 mm headphone jack will be a big impact for those with a good collection of analogue headphones, however, the improved battery life means that you will seldom need to charge your iPhone while listening to music. If you want to use analogue headphones using the included lightning to 3.5 mm adapter is the only resolve for now. Lightning headphones have already existed and a lot of companies will be releasing headphones with that capability in the coming months.
Audio though the lightning port can be pushed in high resolution and several streaming apps will support the output. Music is extremely well balanced and the volumes can be cranked yup high without loss to quality, which will be appreciated by serious audiophiles.
Apple wants you to go the bluetooth route, and we are not convinced. The included lightning EarPods sound pretty similar to previous variants, and still sound tinny are poor constructed and they simply do not stay in the ear. The removal of the 3.5 mm headphone jack seems pre-mature but also necessary if Apple is to be believed.
[section label=”Camera”]
The iPhone 7 gets an improved camera combination as well, with a 12 MP optical stabalization equipped main camera and a 7 MP front camera. The rear camera gets an ƒ/1.8 aperture, and an improved six-element lens, now that you can see the images on the screen the camera shoots with a wide color capture. The LED flash is also extremely bright with quad LED array for a more accurate flash colour, and it works really well, with a firing range of upto 10 feet. Assisting the low light performance the ƒ/1.8 aperture mixed with OIS lets you expose for a longer period and get a better image without any shake.
The camera shoots video upto 4k resolution, although a capacity of 128 GB or 256 GB is recommended for budding iPhone video enthusiasts as the video file sizes are massive. The video comes out impressive with the wide color capture.
You also get 120fps slow mo for 1080p video and 240fps slow-mo for 720p video. The camera and photos app in iOS 10 works well to display live images, and organise all your image collections making them easy to find. The new search options let you search by location, with friends and by time when they were clicked.
The front 7 MP camera gets good wide colour selfies for a more natural looking image. The retina flash feature is now brighter and allows for some light fill. The display is 25% brighter on iPhone 7, hence you get a brighter flash for selfies. The camera lens on the front camera is also wider than before so you can fill more people in your pictures.
[section label=”iOS 10″]
One of the biggest changes to hit iPhones this year has been iOS 10, and while iOS 10 is not limited to iPhone 7, the usability is far more improved. The menus and texts are easier to read and navigate. You also have more options in control centre, and finally iOS gets widgets. However, the new interface is far more optimised and smoother. Apps load quicker and multitasking is far more efficient. More 3D touch features are available, and at the least you can 3D touch on any app, even those which don’t support it to share the app with your friends via email or iMessage. iOS 10 also syncs WhatsApp and Skype like VOIP and IM services with deep linking so your contacts app allows you to initiate WhatsApp calls and Skype calls directly.
You also get the WhatsApp call history in your main call history. Moreover, now when you are on a WhatsApp call, and you get a regular call, it rings in the background and does not disconnect ( or hold ) the WhatsApp call.
Apart from these aesthetic changes, Apple also brings more deep integration of Home, with smart connected devices that now Siri can operate for you. So if you have supported hardware like a thermostat or Philips Hue lighting you can simply ask Siri to control it.
Siri is far more responsive and understands a whole new set of accents, including the Indian accent, much better. With iCloud sync you can now co-share documents and spreadsheets via iCloud with others who can operate without owning any Apple devices, managing the files on a browser online. Big improvements on speed and battery life thanks to lowering the footprint of services and preferences.make the iOS 10 experience great. However a lot of features are still missing and sharing is still properly restricted to Air Drop or third party apps like Send Anywhere.
[section label=”Networks and Battery”]
Thanks to new network radios provided by Intel, network strength is far more improved and there is less switching between 4G and 3G for a better much more improved network performance, in comparison to the iPhone 6s the iPhone 7 delivers far better network and call quality. Thanks to a mix of the new A10 fusion chipset with two little cores and the major improvements on iOS 10 along with a larger sized battery.
The iPhone 7 has significant battery life improvements, thanks to a large battery, iOS tweaks along with the big little architecture on the new chips. With heavy usage that includes phone calls, video recording, IM, editing and general browsing of the internet, mixed with gaming and video playback the iPhone 6s would require a charge by 3 pm if the start time was around 8 am. Now in a real life scenario the day completes with 20% left in the charge. This is significant and will change the usage case scenarios for a lot of people. The charging is still restricted to the lightning port, and if you want a quicker charge you will need to buy yourself a 12 W Apple iPad adapter, which the iPhone 7 supports natively.
[table style=”table-striped”]
| iPhone 7 | Battery Life (non stop) |
| Call Time 4G | 6-7 Hours |
| Internet | 8 Hours |
| Video | 10 Hours |
| Gaming | 5 Hours |
| Music | 18 hours |
[/table]
[section label=”Conclusion”]
On the outset, the iPhone 7 appears not to be a major upgrade, the reality is far from it. Apart from all the Jet Black and matte black goodness of the antenna hiding new colour, the iPhone 7 also improves heavily on many other aspects. The phone is very well sealed and water resistant, to the extent of being considered waterproof. The build quality is much more improved, and the performance is best in class.
The camera has improved from previous generations and DXO mark grades it extremely high among already available phones. You will find improvements on audio quality, battery life, network, call quality and the new home button.
The iPhone 7 is a worthy upgrade, and a good one at that, but we still want a better display and to be able to charge the phone while listening to music.
The OnePlus 3 is the third from the Chinese manufacturer OnePlus. A company with claims of making flagship killers and a tagline that says “Never Settle”. However, the fist two phones have been compromised in one way or another, even though the OnePlus One was an impact maker, the Oneplus Two failed to deliver on promises. The OnePlus 3 is being projected as a true flagship killer, and while there are many reasons why this statement may be true, Let’s Find out in our Review if this stands True!
[section label=”Initial Thoughts”]
One Month in and the OnePlus 3 is still pretty important to people, that says a lot about the positioning of the brand and the value it delivers with the OnePlus 3. The Oneplus 3 is the first phone from OnePlus to be sold entirely without invites or flash sales of any kind. Which does away with one of the biggest issues with owning a OnePlus handset. The phone is available outright all over the world with a price of US $ 399, in India the company launched the phone for Rs. 27999.
[section label=”Build and Design”]
The OnePlus 3 holds the best build quality of the Oneplus line of phones. An all metal shell that reflects a lot upon design and materials from the lineup of HTC phones and it is no way a bad thing. HTC has been one of our favorite manufacturers, and their build quality is a primary reason.
The front of the phone houses Gorilla Glass 4. However, you will only get a protection lip if you buy one of their covers. The included screen protector gets scratched easily and it is recommended that you replace your layer quickly.
We have no complaints with the OnePlus 3 design, in fact, we appreciate it a lot and it speaks a lot about what the company has learnt in the past three years. That being said we are still waiting for the gold color. The fact that the phone is metal, means that dents will be easy to get and so will be scratches.
[section label=”Hardware”]
Hardware wise, OnePlus has left only one aspect behind, and pumped the rest of the OnePlus with the best meat on the market. The OnePlus 3 short of display resolution, features top of the line specifications and then some. Snapdragon 820 with a whopping 6 GB of RAM along with a standard 64 GB storage and 16 Mp and 8MP camera combinations.
[section label=”Performance”]
With the latest update just about a month from the launch, OnePlus took care of a lot of the initial snags faced by the handset. Memory management is a whole lot improved, even though we didn’t really face any issues initially.
Scoring upwards of 140,000 in Antutu benchmark, the OnePlus 3 proves that you don’t need an expensive handset to get the power you desire. In fact, it scores the 1st place at the moment on Antutu with a score of 143532 without any mods.
6 GB of RAM is an overkill and OnePlus basically did it to draw attention towards the phone, with no real use of so much standby memory, it just makes the memory hungry apps last out longer. It does give a free buffer to multitask and allow for games to utilise this memory. At any time, however, there is usually awards of 3 GB of RAM free.
OnePlus may launch a 4 GB variant of the OnePlus 3 much like the LeMax 2, which would make more sense for an ordinary consumer and would also bring down the price by about Us $ 60.
Usual bits of daily use are good after one month of use, and especially good after the software update which tends to smooth things out. Switching between apps is easy and quick and the phone plays well when you push it to the limit.
[section label=”Camera and Multimedia”]
The AMOLED display is excellent and really puts vibrancy into the OnePlus 3. When compared to the dull display on the OnePlus 2 the OnePlus 3 really shines in this department. Media consumption is excellent on the handset which offers good viewing angles and bucket loads of brightness indoors and outdoors.
There is only one speaker on the phone and its sharp but sounds tinny. The audio levels are also average and not the best we have seen. You will find yourself looking for portable speakers or headphones to use this handset. Audio through the headphone jack is good and punchy. Also worth noting is the fact that this phone does, in fact, have a 3.5mm headphone jack. Something the Chinese siblings are missing in anticipation of Apple getting rid of it.
HDR and HD mode you will find yourself capturing some great outdoor shots. The usual OnePlus filters are also available and appreciated in the camera app. The camera is genrally faster, sharper and more detailed in capturing images and video.
A full manual mode allows you to customize and set up your shot if you are a photography nerd. The ability to store RAW lets you get a lot more from the images, and removing the processing engine from the smartphone and shifting it to you PC.
Colors and Contrast is on point and saturation is just right. Mostly outdoor images are excellent with the indoor images coming out good to average.
[section label=”Operating System”]
With Cyanogen completely out of the picture, a proprietary OS which has the same feel of Cyanogen developed in-house is a fantastic idea. A fast and smooth near- stock UI with basic customizations works well for the OnePlus 3.
You have the shelf which sits to the left of the home screen, which you can disable in case you don’t want it. you also get the ability to switch to a dark theme, or a light theme, among various other detailed customizations. A gesture setup allows you to launch the camera, enable the flashlight or control your music from a locked phone.
The operating system is now updated frequently to resolve bugs, and improve performance. Hopefully the transition to Android Nougat will not be as long as it was to Android Marshmallow , which happened earlier this year.
[section label=”Phone and Battery”]
The OnePlus 3 will take in two nano SIM cards and will work with essentially LTE and 4G networks in the region it is designed for. The Snapdragon 820 chip is quite versatile and a wide array of bands are well supported with the OnePlus 3.
The Network strength is good and so is phone call capability with little effect on the battery life. The earpiece is a tad bit low in volume, but not enough to be bothersome. The microphone is sensitive and noise cancellation good. Overall phone capability stands in the good to excellent region.
Battery life is average on the OnePlus 3, with just a 3000 mAh battery and a lot going on, the OnePlus 3 will require frequent recharges, and its recommended that you carry the Dash Charger. We find the charging living up to its name and claim. After a month the OnePlus 3 still charges quickly and crosses 60% in about 30 minutes.
The OnePlus 3 still deals with the heating issues, if you launch the camera in your pocket, you will find a blazing inferno in your pants, to avoid this keep the camera gesture disabled and the fingerprint sensor-enabled.
[section label=”Conclusion”]
The OnePlus 3 fixes all its earlier nags, it looks great and performs better. The OnePlus 3 does have NFC and a brilliant AMOLED display. The metal build is appreciated and so are the material covers that allow you to go back to sandstone or even the wood finish that everyone wanted on the original OnePlus One. The OnePlus 3 is probably the only phone in this price bracket that is worthy of a recommendation over handsets like the S7 Edge and HTC 10, however, there is a big catch.
HTC and more importantly Samsung now are vetrans in the smartphone business, not only are their phones more reliable they are more robust in day to day usage. The Galaxy S7 is considered the best phone from Samsung, and we personally love the HTC 10. The OnePlus 3 is an excellent replacement if you dont want to spend that much.